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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26922250">too much love, too much touch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, bc i know i cant be the only one that gets touch averse when upset, non physical comfort, not mentioned but zuko is trans and autistic bc i said so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:13:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26922250</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sokka wants nothing more than to gather Zuko in his arms and never let anyone hurt him again, and also possibly commit a murder or two.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>too much love, too much touch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is just me projecting on my comfort characters again lol sorry<br/>Title is from Creature Comfort by Arcade Fire.<br/>Read the tags, there's nothing graphic, but the themes are there.<br/>Please let me know if there are any typos, I have never proofread a thing in my life.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka wakes to a soft whimpering noise that he can't quite place in his sleep-addled brain. Then the noise comes again, quiet and pained, and Sokka's gaze darts to the dark Zuko-shaped lump in his corner of his room.</p><p>"Zuko?" Sokka mumbles, rubbing his eyes. "Why're you up?"</p><p>Zuko makes a harsher noise, like a strangled gasp, and Sokka realizes that he's crying. Zuko never cries.</p><p>"M'sorry I woke you…" Zuko whispers, and yup, he's definitely crying. His voice is all choked and sad.</p><p>"Hey, no, none of that. Are you alright?" Sokka climbs less-than-gracefully out of bed and crawls over to where Zuko is curled up.</p><p>Zuko stays quiet, but Sokka can see his face from this angle. The nightlight illuminates the tears tracks down his face in a soft purple. Even like this, Sokka thinks he's beautiful.</p><p>Sokka moves to put an arm around Zuko's shoulders, but Zuko flinches away and curls his arms tighter around himself. His head hits the wall with a painful-sounding thump.</p><p>Sokka tries not to react, and carefully carves out space between him and Zuko. "Alright, no touching. That's okay."</p><p>Zuko's made himself into a tiny ball shoved in the corner. Nothing about his position looks comfortable, from the nails he's digging into his arm to the sharp tension in his shoulders and jaw. After a few moments of silence broken only by Zuko's ragged breathing, Sokka asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"</p><p>He's not really expecting an answer, but Zuko gives one anyway. "Nightmares again," he says softly. Sokka hums in acknowledgement. Zuko has loads upon loads of childhood trauma, and Sokka is no stranger to the fallout. Usually, though, Zuko would have woken him, and would be curled up in his lap by now. </p><p>"This one's different, isn't it?" He asks. Zuko gives him a sharp, startled glance, and shifts. Like he's bracing for a blow, Sokka realizes. "Hey, no, wait, it's okay. I'm not mad, Zuko. You're just kinda worrying me right now." </p><p>Zuko relaxes slightly and puts his head on his knees. The change in posture highlights the panicked trembling in his shoulders.</p><p>Sokka lets them sit in silence for a few minutes, feeling that Zuko needs some time before he talks.</p><p>Eventually, Zuko speaks again in a shaky voice. "Please don't touch me," he says in a tone too close to begging for Sokka's liking.</p><p>"Okay," Sokka replies immediately. "I won't."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Yeah, of course, Zuko. I'm not going to touch you without your permission."</p><p>"Oh," is all Zuko has in response. He sounds lost.</p><p>Sokka has a theory, and he doesn't like it at all, but he feels it's time to test it. "Did somebody else… did they not respect that?" He feels like he already knows the answer, but his heart still seems to plummet into his stomach when Zuko gives a small nod.</p><p>Sokka desperately wants to grab Zuko and hold him tight, but that's not what his boyfriend needs right now. "I'm sorry," he says instead. "That was wrong of them, you know that, right?" Over the course of getting to know Zuko, Sokka has realized that he has a truly warped perception of right and wrong, especially when it comes to the things that were done to him.</p><p>"It always felt wrong," Zuko whispers. "Even when he wasn't doing anything." He makes a sound like he's trying not to cry, and failing.</p><p>"You don't need to explain, Zuko, if you don't want to." </p><p>Zuko shakes his head. "No, I need to… to tell someone." </p><p>Sokka wants nothing more than to gather Zuko in his arms and never let anyone hurt him again, and also possibly commit a murder or two. The feeling only intensifies when Zuko continues.</p><p>"I was… eight, I think. Zhao was one of my father's top investors. He convinced my father to make a deal." </p><p>Sokka really does not like the direction this story is going.</p><p>"He offered access to the hundreds of acres of land he owned… in exchange for access to me."</p><p>Sokka clenches his fists, takes a deep breath, and counts to ten. Then he counts to ten again, because once wasn't enough. He tries to keep his voice steady as he replies, "Zuko, that's messed up. You know that's messed up as fuck, right?" </p><p>Zuko shrugs. </p><p>"...I think I'm going to kill Ozai." Sokka says.</p><p>That was clearly the wrong thing to say, because Zuko's eyes widen and his breathing speeds up. "No, Sokka, you can't, he's powerful, he can still hurt you-"</p><p>"Hey, hey. I won't actually do it, alright? I'm just mad at him, for what he's done to you." </p><p>Zuko doesn't look convinced.</p><p>"I promise. I'm safe, you're safe, it's all okay." </p><p>They sit in silence for a few peaceful moments, then Sokka yawns loudly, and Zuko snorts. </p><p>"God, it's like two in the morning, we need to sleep." Sokka stands up and groans as his joints pop from his uncomfortable position.</p><p>Zuko follows a few paces behind as Sokka walks to the couch, turns on a cooking show he's probably seen every episode of, and flops down. Zuko stays standing, looking uncertain, and Sokka realizes that every time they sit on the couch, they end up cuddling, which Zuko doesn't seem to be in the mood for.</p><p>"You don't have to sit right by me, Zuko. I know you probably don't want to be touched right now. I promise I'll respect that, okay?"</p><p>Zuko sits down in the middle of the couch, while Sokka's on one end. He looks stiff and uncomfortable at first, but as time passes and Sokka still doesn't make a move on him, he begins to relax. He slowly shifts around until his legs are up on the couch, and his head is just lightly resting on Sokka's ankle. It's wildly different from how they usually sit, limbs tangled together in a pile, but it's a show of trust all the same.</p><p>They're both exhausted and they fall asleep quickly, and they sleep soundly until the beams of morning sun on their faces wake them up.</p>
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